Hero's Journey

Introductions

Summary: Hey guys! I'm so excited to finally have this finished. It's my first story with Emma. It takes place her 2nd year of high school. She moved to Central City a year ago and this is the story of how she meets a certain redhead. (And yes, I've done my research on where he's originally from in the comics. I tried to stick as close to the canon I could find as possible.)

Word Count: 1492

Warnings: None

Note: Telepathy and 'thought dialogue' is marked in italics

Emma tugged at the strap of her backpack adjusting its position. She wondered how it got so heavy. Then she remembered she was carrying her books for Biology, AP European History, and American Lit.
    "Ow! Dang, it" she exclaimed as she walked straight into the glass doors to Central City High School.
    She'd been distracted, as usual, flipping through her planner to see what she had forgotten for the day. Thankfully nobody seemed to have seen her; at least nobody seemed to be laughing. She didn't feel anyone thinking how foolish she was either. She fumbled with the pages till she found the correct page. Emma wondered how she ever knew what day of the week it was. The only way she ever remembered was by what classes she had that day, or if she had tae kwon do lessons after school. She frowned slightly as looked at the page. Today was Student Ambassador day.
    Emma had been excited about it when she signed up, but now she wasn't so sure. Her teacher had recommended her, and she'd never been the one to say no to an authority figure. Besides which, she had been a bit too proud to admit she was nervous; that meeting new people wasn't really her thing. She had pushed herself outside of her comfort zone far enough when she met her best girlfriend one year ago. It had been her first day of school in a new city. She had walked up to the only other table in the cafeteria anyone sitting alone and asked if she could sit there. The girl had been on her bus that morning. After that, Emma and the girl had become best friends.
    It had been a year since Emma moved to Central City from Chicago. She had adjusted well to her new life in a quieter town. Chicago was The Big City.  Everything was noise and light and change and -LOUD. Always loud. Loud enough to drown out the thoughts in her head. The rumble of the L-Train, sirens, a few birds, occasional gunshots, street vendors hawking their Chicago Dogs, people going about their day. Rushing to and fro; their heads all filled with thoughts.
Mostly about things she was too young or too naive to understand. Mortgages, business deals, politics. Sometimes she understood. Parents with sick kids, students worried about exams, couples fighting about money. Families of police officers and firefighters afraid their loved ones wouldn't come home. These things she understood, as she worried about these same things. Sometimes it was all too much. Sensing the so many thoughts of so many people at once left little room for her own thoughts.
The sounds of the city had helped with that and allowed her to block most of it out. Given her headspace to focus on her own problems. Even though, when she did, she felt a twinge of guilt. The world was so big. And Emma Aiden Teague and her problems were so small. So insignificant.
At first moving to Central City had been a bit of a culture shock. Then it had been a relief, at least in some ways. It was so much quieter. There were fewer people, which meant fewer thoughts and emotions. And the people were quieter and more gentle with their thoughts.
Emma had looked forward to moving to a new place where she could start over. Back in Chicago, she'd always been the odd one out. Except in the dojang, where she had found a second family. Moving gave her a chance to start over. Nobody knew her, so she could remake herself into anyone. She could sculpt herself into the popular, outgoing girl she'd always wanted to be. More like her mother or her younger sister Jessica. It hadn't worked as well as she'd hoped.
Now she was supposed to show the new kids around and make them feel welcome. She'd be giving them tips on how to survive- which teachers gave pop quizzes and which were good to ask for extra credit work, where the library was, those sorts of things. That part wasn't a problem. But after all her efforts, she still never quite fit in with the right crowd. She wasn't popular, she was still somewhat of the awkward girl. She wasn't sure whether to pity the poor kid who got stuck with her or dread getting laughed at. But she held onto the possibility that it would end up going well.
Shaking her slightly to clear it, Emma pulled herself out of her little reverie. She cursed as she looked at the clock in the hallway. She was almost late for first period! In her rush, she nearly ran straight into one of the upper-grade teachers. Please don't let me get detention! I'm already running late, I don't have time for that! she thought.
"It's ok. you've got time, I'm not giving you detention. Just slow down, and try to watch where you're going, Miss Teague."
Emma managed to slide into her seat seconds before the bell rang, harried and out of breath.
    Later that morning she was sitting next to the new boy she was assigned to as the student ambassador in the cafeteria. He had sunset orange hair and green eyes that seemed to buzz with electricity perfectly complimented by a smattering of freckles. He looked like the kind of boy who should be awkward but somehow wasn't. He had an air of confidence. She was suddenly very aware of the way her shoulder length brown hair hung straight and boring. Her eyebrows probably needed plucked, her lips were bleeding again from nervously picking them, and she surely had dark circles under her muddy brown eyes.
"Ok, Wally. Let's see what classes you've got," she said reaching for his schedule.
"Hey, call me Wallman" He finger gunned her as he handed over his schedule.
She rolled her eyes and chuckled at him. "Ok, Wallman". Looking over his schedule she noticed they had several classes together and set hers down for comparison. "Here. We've got physics, American lit, and P.E. together. I can help you with American Lit if you need it, but physics isn't exactly my strong suit. I've got French for my foreign language, and my Spanish is a little rusty. So I might not be able to help you much with that. But I've heard Senorita Blanco is good. Doesn't give too much homework and she's supposed to be fun."
"Ah, bueno. Bueno." Wally winked at her. "You speak the French, Mademoiselle? Perhaps you will teach the Wallman."
Emma smiled slightly and shook her head at his attempt at a French accent. "I mean, I guess, if you want me to. I'm not that good though. I only know un peu." She made her index finger and thumb into a 'little bit' gesture. "My friend Natalie is better."
"Nah, babe. I'd rather you teach me"
    She blushed slightly in spite of herself and looked at the table, wondering if he was flirting or if he was always like this. "Please don't call me babe."
    Wally had the decency to look sorry as he put his hands up. "Oh. Ok. Sorry. I won't, Emma"
    "Thanks" She shoved her books back into her bag as the warning bell for the next period rang. "Ok, this is one of the classes we have together. American Lit. You can sit by me if you want."
    "Yeah, sure ba...Sorry. Sure. Lead the way." He paused for a moment. "Hey, Emma, my aunt, and uncle are throwing us a welcome barbeque this evening. Want to come?"
    "Sure, ok, I guess. Is this, um, like a big thing, or?"
    "Nah. Not too big. Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris are pretty cool. It'll be lots of fun. But it'd be better if you were there." He looked at her with a smirk.
    "Alright. I'll come. I have to double check with my parents first, but sure. What time?"
    "6:30ish." As they approached the classroom door, Wally put his arm around her. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
    Emma chuckled again. She couldn't pinpoint why, but her instincts told her he was right. She felt comfortable around him. Somehow she could sense that underneath the cockiness, he was a good guy. The kind who genuinely wanted to help people. Something just clicked. "Haha. I think so too, Wallman. Now let's go before we're late."